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Decorating

All Things Home

Faux Fur in Winter Decor

Faux fur has been in decor for a while, but I have to admit that I was never really drawn to it.  The main reason, and this is probably a little silly, is that it always looked and felt Muppet-ish to me.  You know what I mean?  It felt matted and like polyester, not sumptuous and silky. Well, I’m finally coming around.  Either faux fur has come a long way or I’ve finally been exposed to the good faux fur that’s been out there for a while. When I was looking at dog beds for Sebastian, I surprised myself that I was drawn to the Ivory Alpaca Faux Fur Pet Bed from Pottery Barn.  It just looked so inviting!  Jeff joked that I was shopping for a dog bed for myself.  What else do I have to base the buying decision on except for what I think will look comfortable? And it’s soft

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All Things Home

White & Wood Winter Table | $100 HomeGoods Giveaway

The Farmhouse Holiday Decor Series is back and today I’m sharing a winter tablescape.  I’m not quite ready to break out the Christmas decorations, especially since I use a lot of fresh greenery, but I like the idea of a festive winter table to fill in that decorating gap. This week’s “theme”, a holiday/Christmas tablescape, was sponsored by HomeGoods, so I drove out to the nearest one with my mom last week to stroll the aisles and pick up some goodies.  Now, when I go to HomeGoods, I need to carve out at least a couple of hours.  There is no “popping into HomeGoods real quick.”  That just isn’t possible for me.  It may be because I don’t live very close to one, but, more likely, it’s because it’s a place I need to really comb through to make sure I don’t miss anything. I had a few things unrelated to this post that

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All Things Home

farmhouse-style dog bed cover

Earlier this week, I took some time to design and make a dog bed cover for a freelance project.  I’ve been doing a lot of desk work lately and not a lot of making, so it was nice to get on the floor, cut & stitch, and see flat fabric take some shape. I used an old tablecloth and some mattress ticking, both from my stash, to make the cover that fit over a standard size inexpensive dog bed.  I come up with some of my favorite projects when I’m just winging it as I go and that was definitely the case with this one! This one was simple, but I think it looks a bit fancier because of the two different fabrics and the addition of the ties.  It really is just an oversize pillowcase, though! Sebastian plopped on it right away, but he kept facing the wrong direction, walking over

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All Things Home

the great debate | to paint or not to paint

Right off the bat, let me say that I don’t ever mind my readers sharing their opinions here.  Unless someone is being downright nasty on a personal level, which is rare, it doesn’t bother me if someone disagrees with a decorating decision I make or they don’t like something I made, bought, etc.  If ever I do feel ruffled, I figure that I probably wouldn’t like every single decorating decision they make, either, and that makes me smile.  We’re all different and that’s okay. I’ve grown a relatively thick skin over the years and sometimes even find the constructive critiques to be very helpful and thought provoking.  Sometimes they change my mind and sometimes they make me even more certain of my decision. All of the varying opinions shared on my newly acquired art cabinet made me think about the process of deciding if a piece should be painted.  Well, maybe not

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All Things Home

Which comes first | how to avoid decorating regret

One of the projects I’ve been working on lately has me thinking a lot about the design process, specifically as it relates to putting a room together and how to avoid decorating regret.  I’ve been pondering the order in which choices and purchases should be made and I’ve realized that most people, including myself at times, go about putting a room together entirely backward. Think about it with me…  You’ve been browsing the internet or flipping through decorating magazines or perhaps binge-watching your favorite design show and now you’re ready to tackle your room.  It’s time for a makeover!  What do you immediately do? I think it’s fair to say that most people pick a paint color. Right? You pick out paint chips and paint swatches on the wall and the room makeover has begun!  I think we all go straight for the walls because it’s the easiest, biggest bang

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a slice of life

marinated skirt steak recipe & an All-Clad giveaway

The pot rack in my kitchen might be the one thing in my house that we installed a week after we moved in 10 years ago and hasn’t moved an inch.  It’s never even been under threat of being moved.  I love, love, love my pot rack.  That’s an odd thing for me, because it’s not an antique, but it is so functional and I honestly like having all of my pretty pans and copper pots on display.  Yes, we’re here to talk about All-Clad pans, but I’m also here to share a marinated skirt steak recipe. And yes, I use my pans.  Not all of them, but I use most of them. Most of the pans I’ve picked up here and there at discount stores and even yard sales.  (I bought that gorgeous antique copper bunt pan from a German woman at a yard sale in Florida for $25.)

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All Things Home

QuickStep Flooring Review

A couple of weeks ago, I shared the QuickStep laminate flooring I selected to install in a corner of the studio to use for photo shoots.  I have been wanting to do this for a long time, not because the old floorboards in the studio aren’t cool, but because they are #1 – very orange and #2 – there was a large plywood patch on one side of the room.  If this was my house or a space that I owned, my approach may have been different, but for a rented space, floating a laminate floor in one area was the best option to address those issues.  It is now installed and looks gorgeous and I wanted to share a review about the installation process and show how it looks in the overall space. As I shared in the last post about the flooring, I selected the QuickStep French Country

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a slice of life

baked potato soup recipe

I shared a couple of weeks ago that I made a full-fat, no-skimping-on-the-good-stuff baked potato soup recipe as a treat.  I love creamy soups and casseroles, but I don’t make them very often anymore, because they are just so calorie-laden. But it was a dreary day and both Jeff and I were in the mood for soup.  A  loaded baked potato soup recipe that I used to make came to mind and I couldn’t shake it.  So, I bought the ingredients and made it and it was every bit as sumptuous and velvety as I remember it. The blue & white dishes were from . I got this particular baked potato soup recipe from a friend about 12 years ago.  When I left the corporate world, I was a stay-at-home wife for a couple of years.  I didn’t work, didn’t have kids… it was a glorious two years!  I just relished

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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